Finding Inspiration Through Travel with How Far From Home

About This Episode

In this episode, we are joined by Chanel and Stevo of How Far From Home. They are a South African couple that quit their ad agency jobs to live a travel lifestyle together. They talk with us about the conference that helped them take the leap to start their travel lifestyle, how they work together, and how they balance their online presence together.

Introduction:

Chanel and Stevo are former ad creatives who quit to get creatively inspired through photography. At the point of this interview they have been on the road for just over four years and have been creating online. They met on a blind date when somebody in Stevo’s building set him up with Chanel. They were both interested in travel, but Chanel was the one who was more interested in exploring the world whereas Stevo was more interested in traveling locally. It was a conference in Cape Town which changed their mindset about travel and made them start to think more about making this their lifestyle.

Part One: Travel

Why travel? Stevo says, why not? He feels his thought about this evolves over time as when they first started it was all about finding their passions and being creative. They were last in Munich, Germany and are currently in Salzburg, Austria. Next, they are heading back to South Africa. Stevo’s father was actually born in Salzburg and he still has family there which is perfect for them to visit every once in a while. If you are in Austria, they should have schnitzel and beer.

The most rewarding travel experiences come from the most difficult experiences together. One of which was when they did a twenty day road trip through East Africa where they were setting up tents in the rain and road tripping with so many other people. Looking back on it, they can look back so fondly at it.

The most embarrassing experience came when they booked a flight out of Dubai and went to the wrong airport. They then had to take a taxi to the other airport after not finding their flight on the board.

Their worst travel experience came when they were camping in Tanzania on their road trip during the most hot and humid night. On the second night there they had a water bottle that had been chewed through during the night by rats. They also discuss other times where they have been sick on the road as well. They have learned from this to really take care of their health more while on the road.

Part Two: Relationships

After spending half of their relationship on the road together, they feel that travel has really cemented their relationship. There are a lot of ups and downs, but everything they have been through and what they have been able to achieve has really inspired them to conquer more challenges together.

Chanel takes care of most of the travel plans and handles all of it through spreadsheets. She is the organized one in the relationship which helps her to create the travel plans for the two of them. They have learned that you cannot try to outdo the other person in the relationship and you need to play to each other’s strengths to make the process smoother.

Japan is the destination that they would want to return back to if they could. They would choose to go back in the winter time. Another place would be Namibia which is just next to their home country of South Africa which they wish to do a road trip through. They are actually doing that for their pre-wedding celebration.

Their final advice to couples who want to get out more is to just do it as much as possible locally to know what it is like to travel together before you travel internationally. This test run will help you figure out what type of traveler the both of you are so that you know what you are looking for in a destination and itinerary.

Part Three: Making Travel a Lifestyle

How Far From Home originated from an idea they had on their Instagram where they would measure the exact distance they were from their home of Johannesburg. They would take a photo of themselves holding a chalk board and adding up the distance. Eventually it evolved into what they are doing now with their travel photography.

They wanted to document their journey through photography and write a diary using the blog. Eventually they grew to do a little bit of Facebook and YouTube as well. Being creatives, it was a great transition into this lifestyle. However, their ideas are not always on the same page because of the nature of being two creatives working on a business together.

Chanel has always ran the blog, they both work on Instagram, and Stevo works on YouTube and videos. They also split up certain projects where they handle the client requests and communication. When it comes to balancing all of this work that they do, they try to slow things down from time to time to catch up on certain tasks. Creating a balance of tasks is key to keeping energized.

They created a course and eBook about how to travel around the world which includes everything they have learned along the way including: budgeting, what to pack, how to plan, spreadsheets, and so much more about planning your trip. It is a great resource for somebody wanting to start this travel lifestyle, but does not know how to plan and prepare for their journey.

• Travel Around the World Online Course

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